![]() ![]() Not so with Moses the emphasis is clear: God spoke all these words, and no man is above the law.ĭ. Hammurabi is clearly above his own law since he was the embodiment of the law. The Code of Hammurabi begins with page after page of how wonderful Hammurabi is and how much he has accomplished. While Hammurabi mentions the gods of Babylon, the emphasis is clearly on him as the king and lawgiver (with divine authority, of course). There are some similarities between the Ten Commandments/Mosaic Law and the Code of Hammurabi, but the differences are even more profound. The Code of Hammurabi is another well-known set of laws and principles from this same approximate period. God was above all, and His law was and is the expression of His will. Rather, God spoke all these words, and Moses nor any other man was never to think of himself or allow others to think of him as above the law. This wasn’t Moses’ law (though we often casually refer to it as such). The God-based moral code also established that this people, this nation of Israel belonged to God and not to Moses. They were often just as immoral or more immoral than their human followers. ![]() God spoke all these words: This God-based moral code set the God of Israel – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – apart from the commonly worshipped gods of the pagan world at that time. There are no cultures where cowardice is good, and bravery is bad.Ĭ. They agree that stealing is wrong, and that justice is good. All say that honesty is good and that a man cannot have any woman he wants. All agree that we have particular obligations to our family. ![]() All cultures have said murder is wrong, and kindness is good. He gave concrete examples of how all cultures in the past were able to agree on the basics of morality because these principles are implanted in the heart and mind of mankind. Lewis explained how there certainly is a universal morality among men. “It has been well said that the commandments are God’s nature expressed in terms of moral imperatives.” (Cole) They are forbidden by the Decalogue, because they were previously forbidden by conscience and they are forbidden by conscience because they are forbidden by the nature of things and the nature of things is God.” (Meyer) “It is wrong to steal, or murder, or covet, not primarily because these sins are forbidden by the Decalogue. A few aspects of the Mosaic Law show new revelation, but for the most part it simply clearly and definitely lays out God’s law as it was written in the heart of man since the time of Adam. God spoke all these words: The following laws were not invented at Mount Sinai. This made the strongest, most authoritative impression upon the people possible.ī. In reading and thinking through these commandments, it should be always remembered that Israel first heard these commands spoken by God from heaven in an audible voice. After this, Moses went back up the mountain to receive more revelation from God for the people (Exodus 20:21). After this, the people asked that God not speak with them directly, and that Moses be the messenger (Exodus 20:18-19). “These commandments were after all addressed to the ordinary Israelite, not to the religious elite of the day: they are expressed in strong simple terms, understandable to all, and deal with the temptations of the common man, not of the theologian.” (Cole) There, God answered him by voice (Exodus 19:19), as Moses stood among the people at the foot of Mount Sinai. And God spoke: It is proper to believe that God spoke these words to Israel as a whole, as they assembled together at the foot of Mount Sinai. Four commandments regarding our conduct before God. ![]()
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